Villain Seduces to Rise in Status

Silvester thought for a moment, his expression growing distant as memories surfaced.

”That’s... well, how do I put it? The last time I fought someone using that kind of eerie qi, it wasn’t even flames. And I’ve only encountered someone like that once. He’s using a much more advanced form of it.”

He paused, a slight grin crossing his face. ”That guy never disappoints my expectations. As for who used it? Well, it wasn’t someone from our continent.”

Rexa’s eyes widened sharply.

If it wasn’t from their continent, that meant there were others out there. Which meant Cale had been telling the truth the whole time. Not that she’d ever doubted him—but confirmation was still satisfying.

”B-but if there are other continents... and it hasn’t been made public...” she started, her mind already racing through the implications.

Silvester sighed heavily,

”Well, the guy himself said they were from a destroyed clan of a destroyed continent. Who knows how much of it was true. Though given that I tortured the hell out of those guys back then, it wasn’t a lie.”

He took a few seconds, choosing his words carefully. ”From what I know, that kind of qi isn’t actually evil. Rather, it’s something similar to erasure. Those people literally worshipped their first clan leader—they called him the Nexus Lord.”

He paused, almost smirking. ”Childish title if you ask me.”

Rexa stared at him, an expression that clearly said: ’You’re one to talk about childish titles.’

But her mind was elsewhere.

’So he isn’t in any danger... Sigh, Cale has so many secrets still. I need to gain more of his trust. Didn’t I make that clear last time?’

The frustration was palpable beneath her calm exterior.

She’d given him everything—her loyalty, her body, her unwavering devotion—and yet he kept pieces of himself locked away.

Maybe he was just too shy, or maybe he wanted to surprise her. Yes, that must be it!

Though, that wouldn’t do.

She needed to be closer to him.

’I’ll make him see me. Really see me.’

Silvester, watching the subtle shift in her expression felt a slight shiver in, wisely chose to say nothing more on the subject.

Instead, he crushed the Spirit essence core crystal completely, releasing its contents in a burst of pure mix of energies that flooded through his domain.

The rainbow light of the crystal’s dissolution cast strange shadows across the forest, beautiful and terrible all at once.

***

Cale moved through the academy courtyard, testing the limits of his newly acquired knowledge.

His new strong skeletal structure had always been a passive asset, but now he understood the deeper function—injury triggered a cascade of power, pain itself becoming a fuel source. Something like muscles, the more you train the more strong they become.

’Ahh, is my system making me a masochist?!’

He clenched his fist, feeling the Qi and mana both beneath his skin resonate with each movement. The system had always suggested pure Yang absorption and natural essence or whatnot, but watching the black shimmering flare through his meridians now, he realized something crucial.

’These new bones don’t just absorb energy. It pulls from everything—the world’s energy itself. That’s... definitely worth experimenting with.’

A slow grin spread across his face. Another advantage most cultivators would never discover.

”So, be it Qi, mana, or those black flames, maybe I will one day get a bone structure so strong I could defeat people with only physical strength...keke, lets not delude so quickly.’

***

The system message hit him mid-step:

[MASSIVE INFLUX OF ENERGIES DETECTED WITHIN VICINITY]

[HOST WITHIN PROTECTIVE DOMAIN - NO HOSTILITY DETECTED]

Cale’s eyes narrowed. A domain? Massive energies? What is happening so quickly? Did that woman do something as revenge?

But seeing no attack incoming. He’d learned enough by now to recognize an opportunity when he saw one.

’If I’m not being targeted, I’d be an idiot not to use this. My body can absorb any type of energy now anyway. Why waste it?’

He settled into lotus position.Another notification appeared:

[ABSORB ALL ENERGIES? Y/N]

He sighed heavily. ”Is this thing going to babysit me through every cultivation session? I guess it’s similar to those essence drops I’ve been making.”

He didn’t hesitate since he too was a shameless man.

”Yes.”

The world exploded.

Colors flooded his perception—crimson, cyan, emerald, gold—energies of every conceivable type surging into his body from all directions like he was some kind of spiritual sponge.

His skin prickled as if thousands of needles were piercing through simultaneously. Veins rose along his forehead and neck, dark and prominent as they strained under the pressure.

His entire frame convulsed.

Blood began trickling from both nostrils. A headache was child’s play compared to this—it felt like his skull was being split open from the inside, each type of energy clashing against the others as they forced their way through his meridians. The pain was indescribable, absolute, consuming.

Minutes stretched into what felt like eternities.

Then—silence. The torrent stopped as if someone had simply switched it off.

Cale’s eyes snapped open, bloodshot and unfocused.

”Cough... cough...”

He vomited violently, blood spattering across the ground in front of him. His body shook as he retched again and again, completely emptying his stomach.

”Fucking hell!” he screamed, his voice hoarse. ”This hurts like a bitch! What even was that?! You fucking idiot, are you trying to kill me?! I haven’t even married yet!... Sigh...”

Before his frustration could fully settle, the system chimed again—as if apologizing and desperately trying to suck up to its master:

[MANA CAPACITY: LVL.10 → LVL.13]

[QI CAPACITY: LVL.10 → LVL.13]

[BREAKTHROUGH ACHIEVED: MID ADVANCE STAGE CULTIVATOR]

[+10 BLANK POINTS REWARDED]

[RACE EVOLUTION]

[Human: 0% → 10% (Awakened)]

[Elf: 100% (Normal) → 0% (Awakened)]

[REWARD SELECTION AVAILABLE]

[Choose One:]

[ABYSSAL MALICE REFINEMENT - Passive Skill: Absorb accumulated karma and wicked desires of corrupt cultivators killed as energy. Converts negative karma into usable power.]

[OR]

[SOULBOUND WEAPON - A blade forged from your own life-essence and soul fragment. Lives as an extension of your body, slumbering within your dantian. Emerges instantly at will. Grows alongside host cultivation. Warning: Shattering the blade causes severe soul backlash.]

Cale sat there, still bleeding, still shaking, his mind grinding through the options despite his body’s protests.

’A passive skill that feeds off corrupt cultivators’ karma? That’s... actually brilliant. Who doesn’t have corrupt thoughts? I sure do. With that, my energy reserves would be practically endless.’

But then the other option surfaced in his mind.

’A soulbound weapon, hmmm.... A blade that lives with me. That levels up with me, weapon I’ll never outgrow.’

He’d never owned anything like that in either of his lives. Normal weapons were tools.

They broke.

The only downside was the constant qi drain to maintain it. But given how it leveled alongside him and absorbed his energy into itself, that was barely a drawback.

And his own energy reserves were at least thrice as huge compared to people in same cultivation stage.

”The Soulbound weapon,” he said quietly.

[SELECTION CONFIRMED: SOULBOUND WEAPON]

[TIME UNTIL WEAPON MANIFESTATION: 6 HOURS]

Cale’s eye twitched. ”What do you mean six hours? You’re not giving it to me now?” He groaned, pushing himself to his feet with visible effort.

”Well, take your time I guess. I’m exhausted anyway.”

He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his sleeve and began walking toward the academy canteen, his body still aching, but inside he was like a child waiting for his school picnic.

’Might as well eat something if I’m going to wait six hours, I might as well do it on a full stomach and some sleep too, ahh, these old bones are killing me!’